Coal pusher



March 11, 1947. F, P, 'R 'ESC '7 2,417,128

Y V COAL FUSHER Filed July 30, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet} INVENTOR. Fzmyz 2 Rotary March 11, 1947. I ROESCH 2,417,128

COAL PUSHER Filed July 30, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Fenn/K P. k0 5:04 BY 7 iatented Mar. 11, 1947 COAL PUSHER Frank P. Roesch, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Standard Stoker Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application July 30, 1945, Serial No. 607,803

6 Claims. (Cl. 198-218) This invention relates to material pushing means and more particularly to appliances for mechanically pushing coal forward from the rear portion of the coal bin of a locomotive tender, for placing the coal within convenient reach of the fireman or for delivering it to the tender conveying unit of a mechanical stoking device.

In apparatus of this type it has been customary to provide a plurality of spaced crossheads or pusher heads suitably connected and mounted to reciprocate over the fuel supporting floor and rear slope sheet of the tender fuel bin, being operated by a motor mounted upon or above the slope sheet of the fuel bin. It is apparent in such devices, at the end of each stroke, the pusher heads must come to a condition of rest before the direction of their path of travel is reversed, thus at the beginning of each stroke, either for- Ward or rearward, the entire static load imposed on all the pusher heads must be overcome. Once the static load is overcome, considerably less force is required to continue the motion of the pusher heads for the remainder of their stroke. In an endeavor to insure ready and positive starting of the pushing device under all conditions of service, a relatively large motor has been necessary. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a pusher device of increased effectiveness and utility, and more specifically a pusher device so constructed that in operation the static or starting load thereon is reduced affording readier and more positive starting of the pusher device.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pusher device in which pusher members of the device are successively placed in operation to eliminate imposition of the entire static load on the device when starting from rest.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts, as will be understood from the preferred and practical embodiment of the invention hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I is a longitudinal central section through a portion of a locomotive tender showing the improved coal pusher applied in the tender fuel bin;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the improved coal pusher corresponding to Figure 1; V

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-.-4 ofFigure 2.

In the drawings, there is shown a tender structure including a conventional fuel bin construction 10 having a rear slope sheet H, a floor 12,

and side walls l3 and M.

The coal pushing device, generally indicated by the letter A, is mounted on the rear slope sheet l l and includes pushing means comprising a plurality of pusher heads, four being shown in the drawings, indicated respectively by the numerals i5, It, I1 and I8. The pusher heads are in the form of transverse bars, substantially wedgeshaped in longitudinal cross section providing the upstanding pusher faces I9, 20, 2| and 22. The bottom sides of the pusher heads rest on the wear plate 23 over which they are adapted to reciprocate.

The pusher heads are operatively connected, as hereinafter described in detail, with a pressure fluid operated motor 24. The motor 24 comprises a cylinder 25, removable rear and front cylinder heads 26 and 21, respectively, and a piston head 28 fitted in the cylinder 25. Secured to the piston head 28 is the piston rod 29 which passes through a suitable stuffing box (not shown) in the front cylinder head 21. A casing 30 extending forwardly of the motor 24 forms a housing on the forward stroke of the piston head 28 over that portion of the piston rod 29 that operates in the cylinder 25 on the rearward stroke of the piston head 28.

The forward end of the piston rod 29 is operatively connected to the sleeve 3|, the latter being mounted to slide in and out of the housing 30 between the guides 32. The sleeve 3| functions as a seal preventing fine coal particles from entering the housing 30 and fouling the piston rod 29, and, since movement of the sleeve 3|, except for its longitudinal sliding movement, is prevented by the guides 32 and housing 30, it functions to minimize bending or deflection of the piston rod 29,

The forward end of the sleeve 3| is provided with a head 33 in which is threaded the reduced end 34 of the longitudinally extending square shaft 35. Since the pusher head I 8 on its forward stroke moves across the horizontal floor l2 of the fuel bin, articulation between hand the other pusher heads is provided by means of a supplemental shaft 36 at its rearward end flexibly connected at 31 with the shaft 35 and at its forward end flexibly connected at 38 with the pusher head The shaft 35 projects through openings 39, 40 and 4| of the pusherheads l5, l6 and I1, respectively, the alternate pusher heads I5 and I! being loosely mounted on the shaft 35, while the alternate pusher heads [6 and I8 are mounted to move with the shaft 35, the pusher head 16 being secured directly to the shaft 35 by any suitable means, as by welding 42, and the pusher head l8 being secured thereto through the flexibly arranged but inextensible shaft 36. While it is preferred to have alternate pusher heads loosely mounted on the shaft 35, any one or more of the pusher heads may be so mounted,

A plurality of stops or abutments 43, 44 and 45 are rigidly secured to the square shaft 35 and are so located that the loosely mounted pusher heads l and l 1 function for only half the stroke of the piston 28. It will be evident though that the stops or abutments 43, M and 45 may be so located as to provide for functioning of the pusher heads l5 and l! for any desired portion of the stroke of the piston 28. In operation, when the piston 28 moves forward from the position shown in Figure 1, the pusher heads IE and I8, which are securely attached to the square shaft 35 and supplemental shaft 38 respectively, move forward a distance equal to the stroke of the piston 28. The pusher heads I5 and I1, since they are loosely mounted on the square shaft 35, are unaffected during the initial half of the stroke of the piston 28, and are moved forward during and for a distance equal to the final half of the stroke of the piston 28 when the head 33 of sleeve 3| contacts the pusher head 15 and the stop or abutment ts contacts the pusher head l'l.

On the return or rearward stroke of the piston 28, the pusher heads 16 and I8, as on the forward stroke, move a distance equal to the stroke of the piston 28. The pusher heads l5 and H are unaffected during the initial half of the rearward stroke of the piston 28, and are placed in operation during the final half of the stroke of the piston 28 when the stops or abutments 63 and 35 contact the pusher heads l5 and I1, respectively.

It is evident then, that at the beginning of the stroke of the piston 28 on either its forward stroke or its return stroke only two of the four pusher heads are initially placed in operation. The static load that must be overcome by the motor is, therefore, considerably less than it would be were all four pushers initially placed in operation.

Motion is imparted to the motor 26 by a fluid, preferably steam, from the locomotive boiler or any other suitable source of supply through the pipes 46 and 41 which serve alternately as both intake and exhaust lines to their respective sides of the piston 28.

A plurality of rails 48 and @9, are arranged longitudinally of the fuel bin and are secured in a suitable manner to the wear plate 23. The pusher heads l5, l6, 1'! and 18 are apertured in their bottom surfaces to receive the upper or head portions of the rails 48, 49. The rails 48 and d9 constitute a track upon which the pusher heads are guided and by which they are restrained from movement away from the wear plate 23.

I claim:

1. A material pushing device comprising a reciprocating motor, a plurality of pusher members, and means operatively connecting said pusher members and said motor, said connecting means including fast connections between the motor and some of said pusher members forimparting motion to some of said pushermembers for the full stroke of said motor and lost motion connections between the motor and the remaining pusher members for imparting motion to said remaining pusher members for a partial stroke of said motor.

2. A material pushing device comprising a reciprocating motor, a plurality of pusher members, and means operatively connecting said pusher members and said motor, said connecting means including fast connections between the motor and alternate pusher members for imparting motion to said alternate pusher members for the full stroke of said motor and lost motion connections between the motor and the remaining pusher members for imparting motion to said remaining pusher members for a partial stroke of said motor.

3. A material pushing device comprising a reciprocating motor, a shaft operatively connected for reciprocation by said motor, pushing means loosely mounted on said shaft, pushing means rigidly mounted on said shaft, and contact members rigidly mounted on said shaft rearward and forward of said loosely mounted pushing means, said contact members being so disposed that at the foremost end of the stroke of the shaft, said rearward contact member is spaced a distance from said loosely mounted pushing means less than half the stroke of the shaft and said forward contact member is in contact with said loosely mounted pushing means.

4. A coal pusher for a tender fuel bin comprising a reciprocating motor, a shaft arranged to be reciprocated by said motor, a plurality of pusher members alternately mounted loosely and rigidly with said shaft, and means movable with said shaft arranged to contact said loosely mounted pusher members for moving the latter for a portion of the stroke of said shaft.

5. A coal pusher for a tender fuel bin comprising a reciprocating motor, a shaft arranged to be reciprocated by said motor, a plurality of pusher members alternately mounted loosely and rigidly with said shaft, and means movable with said shaft so spaced therealong to contact said loosely mounted pusher members for moving the latter for the final half of the stroke of said shaft.

6. A coal pusher for a tender fuel bin comprising a reciprocating motor mounted at the rear of saidbin, a shaft arranged to be reciprocated by said motor and extending forwardly therefrom, a plurality of'transversely extending pusher members alternately mounted loosely and rigidly with said shaft, means on said shaft rearward of each of said loosely mounted pusher members arranged to move said loosely mounted pusher members forward for the final half of the forward stroke of said shaft and means on said shaft forward of. each of said loosely mounted pusher members arranged to move said loosely mounted pusher members rearward for the final half of the rearward stroke of said shaft.

FRANK P. ROESCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,005,005 Preston June 18, 1935 2,161,373 Milburn et a1 Jan. 31, 1922 1,706,286 Fulton Mar. 19, 1929 14,176 Heisler Aug. 1, 1916 

